The Nanakshahi Calendar

The Nanakshahi (Punjabi: ਨਾਨਕਸ਼ਾਹੀ, nānakashāhī) calendar is a solar calendar that was adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee to determine the dates for important Sikh events. It was designed by Pal Singh Purewal, a non-Amritdhari, to replace the Saka calendar and has been in use since 1998. The epoch of this calendar is the birth of the first Sikh Guru, Nanak Dev in 1469. New Year's Day falls annually on what is March 14 in the Gregorian Western calendar.

Hola Mohalla, Bandi Chhor Divas and Guru Nanak Jayanti continue to be celebrated on dates based on the Hindu calendar. All other Sikh religious days are observed in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.

Example of a Nanakshahi Calendar.

The calendar is highly controversial and is not universally supported by the Sikh community. It is simply a renamed Gregorian calendar and does not use the more accurate approach in other calendar systems like the Jalali calendar. Some people in the Sikh community believe that the calendar is important as it re-affirms the Sikh faith's independence from the Hindu and Muslim faiths. However, many other people and organizations have not accepted it including many orders dating from the time of the Guru's such as Damdami Taksal, Budha Dal, Nirmalas and others.